Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declined to meet with former Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou before his departure in late February, multiple sources have confirmed, in an unusual move that indicates the degree of strain on bilateral relations.
Several of Kong's predecessors met Japanese leaders to bid farewell, but Kishida broke the custom in light of worsening public sentiment amid Chinese vessels' repeated entry into waters near the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands and the past flights of suspected Chinese spy balloons over Japan, the sources said.
The East China Sea islands are also claimed by China, which calls them the Diaoyu. Beijing repeatedly sends its vessels into waters near the islands.